Nico, Meet Your Papa
by Lady.Artemis.Isis.13
Summary: REUPLOADED: "The baby boy squirmed around until he was able to gaze up at his father clearly." "Hades's onyx eyes pierced into Nico's innocent dark brown orbs." Hades is wary of holding his son, but such feeling won't last forever.


**DISCLAIMER: Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the rightful property of Rick Riordan.**

 **ORIGINAL DATE: 23/08/2012(?)**

 **SYNOPSIS:** ** _"The baby boy squirmed around until he was able to gaze up at his father clearly." "Hades's onyx eyes pierced into Nico's innocent dark brown orbs." Hades is wary of holding his son, but such feeling won't last forever._**

 **FEATURED CHARACTERS: Hades, Maria di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, Nico di Angelo**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Due to my original account being closed (see main profile for more details), I have elected to re-upload this story on my new account.**

 **~o~**

 **Nico, Meet Your Papa**

 **~o~**

 _"Yes, having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit."_

 _~Fatherhood_

 **~o~**

"Up, Papa! Up!"

"Hmm?" Hades readjusted the cuffs on his black suit and turned his head to the child beside him.

It had been a quiet afternoon in Florence and a visit had been warranted. Only now, he found himself alone with his daughter in the sunroom of the di Angelo villa. Tiny Bianca, merely a few years old, had climbed up onto the dark chaise lounge, and with imploring brown eyes, she held up her small hands to him, saying, "Up!"

Taking a deep breath, Hades rose from his seat and lifted his small daughter into his arms. Her dark hair fell in waves around her rounded face. Compared to her light olive complexion, Hades was decidedly paler than snow. Bianca reached out her hand and gently tugged at a stray lock of his dark hair with a bright smile on her face. She was as sweet and lovely as her mother.

Thoughts of Maria soon wandered to something else he had been avoiding for some time. His newborn son, Nico di Angelo.

"Bianca? Bianca!" came Maria's voice from beyond the sunroom. " _Prendete vostro padre qui!_ "

Hades sighed. "We're coming, Maria!" he called back. Then he peered down at his daughter. "Do you like your brother?"

She nodded fervently. "Si, papa."

Hades's attempt at a smile resulted as a grimace. His thoughts lingered on his infant son as he ascended the dark wood staircase while Bianca babbled in his ear. Like all gods, Hades was permitted by the Fates to visit his demigod children on rare occasions. However, his interactions with his children came at a morbid price.

For a single moment, from the second his children entered his arms, he was granted a brief vision of their fates, usually indistinguishable until the events circulating them came to light. But the problem came with two full-blooded siblings, which rarely occurred for him. His love for Maria was different, and she had gotten him to stay and bond with Bianca. To talk to her and play with her. It softened him towards the di Angelos in particular. Having a son was unplanned. A second child to the same mortal woman was a horrible omen that one of his children would die young in an excruciating way.

Bianca clung to her father's shoulder, quite content in his strong arms. However, her attention was immediately caught by the scampering creature circling her infant brother's nursery. Perhaps normal fathers would have gotten their daughters a doll as a birthday gift, but Hades could hardly claim to be normal. Besides, his daughter adored the skeletal dog charmed with a special voice for barking.

Hades gladly set Bianca down on her feet the moment she giggled and clamored for her undead pet. She knelt by its side and stroked a bone from its rib cage.

"Good puppy," she crooned sweetly. A ghost of a smile traced Hades's lips. Bianca had little patience for live pets, probably because they didn't seem as interesting as undead ones. She had yet to give the creature a proper name, leaving Hades to address it as, 'That Thing.'

From the open doorway, the lovely sound of Maria's singing met his ears. Leaving Bianca to her own devices, he quietly circled around the two and entered Nico's nursery. Maria had designed it elegantly, a room for Nico to grow to adulthood, should he be ever so fortunate. Dark wood panels for and silvery furniture, it had the aura of being unusually dark for a baby's room. Then again, most nurseries didn't house a son of the Underworld.

Maria had cozied up in the comfy armchair beside the solid gold crib that Hades had commissioned for Bianca when she was an infant herself. It was one to last generations. It was with great fondness that he watched his beloved sing her lullaby for their son, bundled in white blankets in her arms, a bright contrast against her long dark hair and red satin dress.

A baby's gleeful coo escaped from the blankets.

"Maria," said Hades softly.

The singing ceased as Maria di Angelo turned to smile at him and ask, "Are you ready to hold him now?"

His silence alluded his uncertainty and Maria saw right through him. She carefully rose from the armchair and approached Hades, cradling their baby for him to see up close.

Nico was a plump little creature, adorable to behold, to say the least. He had the fortune of inheriting his mother's olive complexion, dark hair, and blushing cheeks, but the shapes of those dark brown eyes were so much like Hades. His thumb rested contentedly in his mouth and his wide eyes peered unblinkingly at his father as if he were studying him.

"He looks like you," Maria said.

"More like you, perhaps," Hades amended. At birth, his sons held a strong resemblance to their mothers, but their appearance crafted into Hades the older they got. His daughters were blessed never to experience that.

"Nico laughs all the time," Bianca said from the doorway, the undead dog pacing around her feet until it banged into the wall and its head fell off. With a yelp, Bianca bent down, picked up the dog's skull, and reattached it to the rest of the twitching body. "No, puppy! No fall apart!"

The undead dog yipped happily in response.

Nico's tiny laugh caught the attention of both his parents. He gazed intently at Bianca's pet, giggling at the strange creature and then at Hades, reaching out a chubby hand toward him.

"Hades, you must hold him eventually," she said, gazing into Hades's dark, turbulent eyes. "No more delays. It's time."

Hades couldn't find it in himself to disagree with her anymore. He had denied her request for a fortnight, but now, confronted with the tiny demigod, he wasn't as indecisive anymore. Nico's laugh almost made him smile. Most of his demigod son and daughters had passed, and his immortal children no longer sought his attention. After all these centuries, he wasn't attuned to something so pure and affectionate as loving a child.

Somewhat reluctantly, he held out his arms for the baby.

Maria beamed at him and her son. "Nico," she said gently. "Meet your papa."

Cautiously, she rested Nico into Hades's strong arms. The baby boy squirmed around until he was able to gaze up at his father clearly. Hades held his breath. There was the minutest chance that he would see nothing like he had with Bianca. It happened ever so rarely that he held his children without a single vision of their destiny.

But with Nico, he was not so fortuitous.

Hades's onyx eyes pierced into Nico's innocent dark brown orbs. The edges of his vision darkened and the sight of his infant son vanished from sight. He prepared himself for those vague but vivid moments to let him know one thing: how his child was going to die.

 _From the shadows of his vision, the form of a tall, handsome young man appeared. The haze around his features sharpened, and Hades could identify that he wore a rather odd black and silver attire. His sharp features so resembled him that Hades had no doubt that this was Nico. Dark raven hair curled around his face, his olive skin almost ivory, and his expression was remote and cool, so unlike the laughing baby in Hades's arms. He held something rectangular to his ear, a golden skull ring glinting on his finger._

 _"_ ** _Yes, I understand_** _," the future-Nico said in a deep, smooth tone, his voice echoing off the walls._

 _The background around him brightened, revealing to Hades that his son stood in his throne room, right beside his throne. Puzzled, Hades wondered how his son was in the Underworld… but not dead. There was no one else in sight. Who was he talking to?_

 _"_ ** _We'll talk then_** _," the future-Nico continued. "_ ** _Yes, Father._** _"_

 _The adult Nico pocketed the strange device and turned to walk away, only to peer around until his gaze met Hades's head on, as though he would sense his presence. All around him, the shadows slowly drew toward him, as if they wanted to envelop him entirely. He smiled, pressed his index finger to his lips, and winked mysteriously._

Then, in the blink of an eye, both the aged Nico and the vision were gone, leaving Hades uncertain of what to make of anything he'd witness. He had not seen his son die! But what he had seen made no sense at all…

There were no answers. Hades found himself once again in Nico's nursery with Maria, Bianca, and the skeletal dog. Baby Nico let out peals of laughter that jolted Hades back to his senses. The baby grabbed a fistful of his blanket and waved it around in the air. He beamed at his father and laughed even harder. What was so amusing? Hades couldn't figure out. As far as he knew, there was nothing amusing about him.

"Ah gah," Nico garbled between laughs. "Ugg."

For the first time since entering the room, Hades allowed himself to smirk wonderingly at his son's innocence and vague future. Maria sighed fondly and gently caressed the silky hair on his tiny head. Hades noted that for a newborn baby, he already had a head full of hair that would have taken weeks to grow.

The Lord of the Dead approached the armchair and took a seat, careful as no to make Nico uncomfortable. Oh, if his brothers could see the powerful and dangerous Hades now, sitting in a nursery, gingerly holding a baby in his arms with a calm, amused expression on his face. They would have thought he'd gone mental, Zeus more than Poseidon. The latter would have understood how a child could affect a parent.

It was slowly starting to sink in, this new love for his baby boy. Nico's future perplexed him, but the present was something that could never be seen again. He could think about the future another day. Children of Hades were never so cheerful. Why even Bianca had never been this cheerful as a newborn. Instead, she had been quite solemn until she started to learn how to walk and talk. Nico was so uncommonly different that it was refreshing. His toothless grins warmed Hades's heart and his laugh made him grin. Hades wondered how long that would last.

"Me too! Me too!"

Bianca hurried to the armchair and attempted to climb up on Hades's lap. Maria chuckled and helped her up so that she was nestled up opposite Nico. Bianca clutched onto Hades's black suit for support as she looked at her cute baby brother. She made a funny face at him and he started laughing again. That made her smile gleefully. It was simple to see why she loved him so much.

"Nico loves me," Bianca stated. "I loves Nico. You loves him, papa?"

Hades suppressed a chuckle at her use of grammar. "Yes, Bianca. I loved Nico." The good part was that he meant it.

"Loves," she corrected sincerely. Maria shook with silent mirth. It wasn't long before Hades joined her. Bianca didn't understand why, so she continued to play with her brother.

In time, the sun lowered upon the horizon, a signal that Hades's time with the di Angelo family was almost at its end. There was no telling when he would return. Unlike the other gods, he visited Maria often, spending more time with Bianca than his other children. He hadn't meant for that to happen, but Maria held a place in his heart that wouldn't fade away. It was the reason that Nico was here today.

Bianca had fallen asleep not long after supper. Her father roamed the halls while Maria took her to her room, leaving him alone until he once again stood outside Nico's nursery. Bianca's skeletal pet scampered past him in the direction of Bianca's room. Hades shook his head exasperated at the thing and entered his son's nursery.

The curtains had been drawn back and Artemis's silver moon was a vivid sight against the inky black sky. Shadows along the walls thickened, yearning to be close to the god of the dead. In the distance, the pinpricks of lives lost from miles around trickled along Hades's neck. He knew that Thanatos was out there, collecting those very souls and guiding them to his realm. The reminder of his return reiterated the memory of the warning his lieutenant had given him concerning Persephone, who was still furious with him for having another demigod child.

Shaking his head, he silently approached the golden cradle and peered down at the swaddled baby. To his surprise, Nico was still awake, but he appeared to be unaware of his watchful father. Instead, he was focused on the thin shadows around the edge of his cradle, as if he really were studying them. Then a faint draw of power pulsed from him toward those shadows. Hades tiled his head in wonder as those shadows morphed into tiny, unrecognizable shapes against the light.

Nico giggled with satisfaction.

"Clever boy," Hades murmured, astounded that, at such a young age, his son was capable of such feats.

The light clicking of heels alerted Hades that Maria had returned, not that he had sensed her. Her lively soul was a flaming beacon from the corridor. She came up beside him and gazed down at her son.

" He started that two days ago," she informed him. "Bianca was unable to do that until three months."

Hades's chest swelled with pride. "He's a powerful boy, indeed," he said, thinking of Nico's future incarnation and how shadows had yearned to embrace him without him even trying to control them. It took a being with great strength to cause such a natural response to darkness. "Very powerful, indeed."

"With you as his father, I believe he will grow to be as powerful and kind as you," Maria said encouragingly.

Hades chuckled darkly.

"Such words would never be taken seriously amongst my family," he replied coolly. "No one would believe that other than you and very few others."

Without hesitation, Maria took Hades's hand into her own and held the side of his face with her other. The tension in his shoulders and jaw softened when he saw the trusting gleam in her eyes. Brushing her hair back, he leaned down and pressed his lips against herself, a kiss gentle as a feather stroke. The feeling was serene, a genuine love that not many gods had.

Their foreheads touched when the kiss ended.

"I must go," he murmured. "My absence from the Underworld is prolonged enough."

Maria nodded in understanding. "Goodnight, love," she said.

"Goodnight, my Maria. Tell Bianca to name that dog. I'm tired of calling it 'Thing'."

She laughed lightly. "Careful, love. That's exactly what she'll call him if she hears you say it."

Hades groaned warily.

Their attentions were drawn to the coos from the cradle. Hades reached down and took up his son in his arms again. The little baby smiled up at him, showing off his delicate pink gums. Hades smirked and gently ran a cold finger over Nico's dark locks of hair. He wasn't one to kiss his children goodbye, so he carefully placed Nico in Maria's arms. She kissed Nico for him.

Farewells were not his forte, but from the look in his eyes, Maria understood all he wished to say in his silence. She reached up and kissed him again. His eyes gleamed in that old way that always frightened her father when they came face to face, but she saw the truth of the man beneath it. He was saddened to leave them again.

Hades closed his eyes and used his sight from the shadows to see Bianca. She was safely tucked into her bed, her little dog 'sleeping' at her feet. Hades opened his eyes and glanced down at Nico. His son was fast asleep now.

"Goodnight, Nico," he whispered. Hades drifted to the darkened walls and smiled at Maria as the darkness enveloped him in a shadowy embrace. With a final glance, he was gone into the night.

 **~o~**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Due to the closing of my previous account, all my posted stories were no longer available for reading. To my readers, both new and old (possibly), I apologize for the inconvenience. I hope you continue to enjoy this story.**

 **ORIGINAL NOTE:**

 **I'm sure Hades wouldn't be overly affectionate. I always thought of it as somewhat awkward, but seeing as he had two children with Maria, he would be gentler around her and the children.**

 **~o~**

 **Ciao for now,**

 **Lady.** **Artemis** **.** **Isis** **.** **13**


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